


Sleeping In Flames

by orphan_account



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Bullets Era, Fluff, Glimpses into the Future, Homophobia, M/M, MCR, Nightmares, Rayrard - Freeform, Snuggling, Van Days, cute nerds, insomniac Gerard, it's got its sad parts, taken from a prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 18:50:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7280518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray keeps having nightmares and it's keeping Gerard awake in concern.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleeping In Flames

A soft whimper came from the trunk. No, no one was sleeping in an actual car trunk, but it was one of those vans that had the backseat connected to the "trunk" so that you could go back there from the seat, so there was really nothing else to call it. Gerard was already a restless insomiac who ate Captain Crunch at 3:00 am, and the guy he called his boyfriend was constantly having nightmares.

It made him feel a little hopeless. There was nothing he could do about it, and no one else ever noticed. He couldn't really blame them, the little noises and stirs weren't loud enough to wake anyone up. They were only ever heard by Gerard, since the rest of the van was completely silent aside from Frank's occasional grunts and groans. All he wanted to do was go back there and assure him it'd be okay, but he didn't want to make matters worse.

"No... Quit it, Gee...!"

Did he mention that the nightmares were often about him?

That made all the feelings he felt at least ten thousand times worse. Gerard felt as though at night, Ray saw him as an antagonist. He knew he didn't feel that way in real life. In the mornings, he'd have nothing to do with Gerard, but soon enough he'd go right back to being partners. But it was those moments in the morning when he flinched or shied away from him that made Gerard feel like his own enotions were eating away at his insides.

It wasn't every night that these nightmares happened. Just enough to where Gerard wonders if he's a good boyfriend or not. Gerard was quietly on his phone, looking through his photos, when suddenly, there was a quiet sniff. He stopped dead in his tracks and listened in some more. There it was again after a moment, followed by a short, choked sob. Crying was where Gerard drew the line. He'd never done this before (not in his sleep, anyway) and it hurt because this was someone he cared about. Plus, it was Ray. The boy NEVER cries. That wasn't really true, but it happened far less than any of them. 

He knew he had to wake him up, if he wasn't already awake. Luckily, the rest of the band are the heaviest sleepers in the universe, so they could talk if needed. Gerard peeked his head over the seat, looking down at him. He appeared to be asleep, curled up with a hurt expression. He felt a lump in his throat. He's so vulnerable... Gerard was sure he felt his heart snap in half.

"R-Ray... Ray, c'mon, please wake up...!" He clambered over the seat and made his way over to him. "Raayy!" He whispered in a desperate attempt to wake him up. 

Ray's eyes flew open and he scrambled up, gasping. He looked at Gerard, tears still flowing down his rosy cheeks, brown eyes full of terror. "G-G-Gee?" He asked, like he wasn't even sure that it was actually him and not some monster. Gerard felt his heart break into a third.

"Yeah, sweetie, it's me... What's wrong? You were crying in your sleep..." He moved to wrap his arms around Ray, but he flinched before letting him.

"You..." He sniffed again, fresh tears making their way down to his chin, starting to blabber in run-on sentences and stuttering, "Y-You were y-yelling and th-throwing plates n stuff and-and your eyes w-were all red and you were just r-really mad because we f-fucked up a concert and everybody left the audience and I just didn't know what to do so I st-started crying so you g-got even ANGRIER and th-threw a pl-plate at me and.... a-and...!I-I c-can't!" 

He broke down and just buried his head in Gerard's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably (but still managing to keep quiet). "Sweetheart, that isn't me... I'd never hurt any of you..." He grabbed his chin and gently tilted it up to look at him, "Especially not you... Never you. Ever. If I do, please lock me away in my room."

"B-But it wa-was so re-eal and you-you were--" Ray didn't even finish his sentence. He just looked at Gerard in desperation, as if he didn't believe a word he was saying.

"I know, lovely, I know..." He brought his head to the place where his heart was and let it rest there. "You want to talk about it more, or should I distract you?"

"Please distract me..." His voice was soft and gentle, like you could snap it in half.

"Alright, lemme just..." He laid down with him, getting into a cuddling position. "Okay... So, remember how we met?"

"V-Vaguely... Remind me..."

"So, Chad Rikely decided I needed a friend..."

~~~~Flashback~~~~

"C'mon, Gee, it'll be fun!" He said from the driver's seat, driving to a Starbucks.

"That's what you said the last friend." He rolled his eyes and continued staring out the window.

They got to the Starbucks, Chad was looking for someone. "Gimme a moment, he's not very easy to stand out in a crowd. Stay here." He bustled off, looking for the friend.

A short while later, he dragged a shy looking young boy over to him. He was nerdy looking, big dorky glasses, curly hair spiraling around his head, and soft brown eyes that shone in the light. "Here he is! His name's Ray, he's a dork like you! I figured it'd work." Chad leaned up to Gerard and mumbled, obviously intentionally loud enough for Ray to hear, "The only downside is that he's gay." Back to his normal, booming volume, "I'll be in the car!"

He looked back at the boy to see him with a small frown, clearly upset by what had been said. "Hey, don't feel bad, Chad is just a humongous asshole. Always has been, always will be. I'm sure you're a great person. Better than him, at least. You seem nice." 

He looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, umm... Gee?"

"It's Gerard, but luckily for you, I also go by Gee! Good guess, though." They both giggled.

They struck up a conversation and ordered coffee, learning more and more about each other. Soon enough , they were friends. And friends don't let friends hang out with homophobic assholes named Chad.

"Hey, wanna ditch Chad and go down to the comic shop?" Ray snickered a little.

"Yes, that sounds very lovely!"

As they were walking out, Chad rolled down the window and yelled, "Hey, pencil boy! Ugly duckling! Where are you two goin?!"

"As far away from you as possible, honey!" Gerard snapped his fingers in a z formation, and Ray giggled. Chad started getting out of the car and starting near them. "Run!"

And so they did. At one point, they both became out of breath, but kept running until Chad had given up. It wasn't the best feeling in the entire world, but they absolutely had to.

Chad wasn't ever seen by the two again after he yelled "Gay boys! Go make out in a dumpster, where you belong!"

~~~~End of Flashback~~~~

Ray giggled, "Oh y-yeah! Chad... Man, th-that dude is dead to me!"

"He's always been dead to me... Hey, why did he always call you ugly duckling? It seemed really rude?"

"Well, did you SEE m-me back then?"

"What?! You weren't ugly!" He pushed a small curl away from his eye and behind his ear. "I always thought you were beautiful..."

Ray smiled a little at the gesture and shrugged, "H-He was a jerk anyway..." After a minute, he couldn't help but ask, "S-So, all that stuff dream you did... You wouldn't actually ever do to me, r-right?"

He kissed his forehead, "Of course not. Not in a billion years. I'd never want to hurt you..."

"...Really?"

"What do you mean 'really?'? Of course I wouldn't. I'd never hurt anyone, for one, and for two, I love you far too much." Gerard held onto him, "Now, go back to sleep... Long and busy day tomorrow..."

++++  
~3 years later, 2005~  
~The Van, summer, Warped Tour~

"Gee?" Ray asked, clutching a pillow to his chest, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

It was Warped Tour of 2005. Mikey was out with Fall Out Boy, Bob was at his girlfriend's house, and Frank was with his friends. So that left the two of them.

"Yes," he said simply, and held him in his arms, "And what's tonight's nightmare?"

"Nothing... I just had a nightmare where you didn't exist and Chad and I were still friends. I still knew you though. No one else did, though. I missed you so much, so now I want to make sure you're still here."

"I'll always be here, Ray..."

Both boys fell asleep far easier that night.

++++  
~10 years later~  
~Their home~

"Gerard?" He snuggled up closer to his now husband, feeling for his face in the haze of sleep. There was no need to find his bed, since they already shared one. Gerard giggled a little, thinking his actions just too adorable.

"Yes, sweetheart? Bad dream again?" Gerard asked. He was clearly wide awake. Oh, well, once an insomniac, always and insomniac. That's what Mikey always says (it runs in the family)

"No... Not really. I just wanted to say thank you for always being right there when there is one." He mumbled softly into Gerard's chest. They both smiled at each other

"Well, I wanted to say, thank you for being there to snuggle me when either of us are sad..."

"No problem, honey. Love you!"

"Love you way more!  
~~~~  
*Present*

All of that would some day happen. But for now, they were both just kids in a van, barely twenty years old. So that's what they were doing now. Just being crazy, crazy band kids.

"But I can't sleep! Y-You first!" Ray protested.

Gerard just snorted, "You say to the one with insomnia."

"Good point... Well, whatever the case, I can't sleep."

"So we should snuggle all night." 

"Of course."

Under the dim light of the street lamp, they talked quietly whilst holding each other. Both the boys loved quiet, peaceful moments like these. There would never be any doubt about it.


End file.
